Sunday, February 28, 2016

Global Warming Devastating Minnesota's Moose Population?

An article in the Sunday, February 7th,
Minneapolis StarTribune purported to chronicle the decline of Northern
Minnesota’s moose population. The headline, on the front page above the fold,
read: “Can Our Moose Be Saved?” A small banner above that alerted readers that this was a “Special Report.”

Make no
mistake, I “like” moose and wish them no harm. I hope they can and will be
saved, if, in fact, they are in need of saving. The article went on to list the
alleged reasons for the recent decline in that area’s moose population,
highlighting everything from wolf predation to parasite infestations. And then,
predictably, it arrived at the “real” culprit: climate change. It bluntly
stated that these animals don’t do well in higher temperatures, especially in winter (emphasis mine).
So, moose don’t do well in the higher coldest yearly temperatures, but do
alright in summer when it is 70, 80, 90 degrees? You really want us to believe
that it is easier for the moose in 40 to 50 degree below zero weather like this area experienced 2 and 3 winters
ago, and if it’s, say, 89 degrees,
than it is if the temperature is 30 or 40 degrees??! Come on.

The
article referenced a DNR researcher who “found” that, in the winter, “the more
often temperatures are above 23 degrees (not 22 or 24!), the worse off moose
are nutritionally and added “In short, at higher temperatures they don’t seem
to eat enough.” The researcher added, that even when they are near a “smorgasbord”
of good forage, “If it’s too warm, it doesn’t matter.” Yet, later on, the
article allowed as how moose are gaily roaming around the “far warmer plains”
of North Dakota and agricultural regions of Alberta, Canada.

To
recap: these learned scientists, these exalted experts, would have us believe that when the
temperature is 29 degrees above zero moose just can’t motivate themselves to
stave off starvation like they can if it’s 29 degrees below zero or 79 degrees above zero.

Belief
in man-caused global warming does
seem to be leading to a drastic decline… in logic.

Daily Trivia Quiz Answer

Today's Answer: Andrew Jackson. ("Poll" got so worked up before the service he apparently had to be removed from the premises, as he was cussing long and loud).

Q) What words appear on the front of the penny, nickel, dime and quarter, alongside the likeness of presidents?

A) "Liberty" and "In God We Trust"

An Ode To Life

Appreciate all you have, as it- and you- will soon be gone. Leave no heartfelt words unspoken, no sweet gesture incomplete, no act of love undone. Love your spouse with passion and abandon, your kids with patience and understanding but also a firm guidance. Love also the truth, no matter how hard. If pursued by enough people with enough courage, it really will set us free.

And don't forget, we didn't ask to be born. We didn't create ourselves. We are not gods. There is a higher power.

Fireworks of the Mind

Write It Up

Whence Shall Come Another?

True Then, True Now

"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."- Winston Churchill

Time Well Wasted

The power lies within your hands To do with what you may But the hourglass is filled with sands Of endless yesterdays